电刺激大壁虎中脑诱发相反方向脊柱侧弯的研究

深入探索大壁虎Gekko gecko中脑运动调控功能,通过对头部固定的大壁虎(n=10)中脑脑区采用不锈钢微电极施加电刺激,发现对中脑不同深度脑区的电刺激能诱发出脊柱侧弯、四肢动等运动反应.在实验过程中,一些刺激针道在中脑围脑室灰质诱发出脊柱同侧弯曲反应,而在中脑腹侧被盖诱发出脊柱对侧弯曲反应.通过对刺激脑区的组织学检验,确定了大壁虎中脑内控制相反方向脊柱侧弯运动核团分布的大致区域.     

大壁虎与嗅觉相关的学习记忆

壁虎科动物鼻腔较大,化学感觉系统发达,类似于对化学信息敏感的舌端游离的蜥蜴目动物（Malan,1946),并且嗅黏膜面积很大,感觉器神经元多,嗅神经系统十分完善（Gabe and Saint,1976).     

Multi-Scale Compliant Foot Designs and Fabrication for Use with a Spider-Inspired Climbing Robot

Climbing robots are of potential use for surveillance, inspection and exploration in different environments. In particular, the use of climbing robots for space exploration can allow scientists to explore environments too challenging for traditional wheeled designs. To adhere to surfaces, biomimetic dry adhesives based on gecko feet have been proposed. These biomimetic dry adhesives work by using multi-scale compliant mechanisms to make intimate contact with different surfaces and adhere by using Van der Waals forces. Fabrication of these adhesives has frequently been challenging however, due to the difficulty in combining macro, micro and nanoscale compliance. We present an all polymer foot design for use with a hexapod climbing robot and a fabrication method to improve reliability and yield. A high strength, low-modulus silicone, TC-5005, is used to form the foot base and microscale fibres in one piece by using a two part mold. A macroscale foot design is produced using a 3D printer to produce a base mold, while lithographic definition of microscale fibres in a thick photoresist forms the ＇hairs＇ of the polymer foot. The adhesion of the silicone fibres by themselves or attached to the macro foot is examined to determine best strategies for placement and removal of feet to maximize adhesion. Results demonstrate the successful integration of micro and macro compliant feet for use in climbing on a variety of surfaces.     

Phylogenetic relationships among gekkotan lizards inferred from C-mos nuclear DNA sequences and a new classification of the Gekkota

A phylogeny of gekkotan lizards was derived from C- mos nuclear DNA sequence data. Forty-one currently recognized genera, representing all major gekkotan lineages, were included in the study. A total of 378 bp of partial C- mos gene sequences was obtained and aligned. Maximum parsimony (MP) and maximum likelihood (ML) trees were generated based on unweighted analysis using P AUP *; similar tree topologies were recovered by both methods. The Eublepharidae were monophyletic and its relationship to other major clades was poorly resolved. The Pygopodidae of Kluge (1987) was monophyletic, but relationships within this group differed from those retrieved by previous analyses. The Diplodactylini + padded carphodactylines were the sister group of pygopods + padless carphodactylines. The Gekkonidae were monophyletic, but we found no evidence in support of the Teratoscincinae, as Teratoscincus was embedded well within the gekkonids. Both MP and ML analyses supported the basal position of Sphaerodactylus within the gekkonids, in contrast to morphologically based hypotheses. We propose a new higher order classification of the Gekkota that reflect these results. Five gekkotan families: Eublepharidae, Gekkonidae, Pygopodidae, Diplodactylidae, and Carphodactylidae are recognized. The higher order status of the sphaerodactyls will require more intensive sampling of this group. Our results support the hypothesis that the early cladogenesis of the Gekkota was associated with the split of Eastern Gondwanaland from Western Gondwanaland. Divergences among living genera in the Eublepharidae and the Eastern Gondwanan lineages (Diplodactylidae, Pygopodidae and Carphodactylidae) may be older than those in the Gekkonidae.  © 2004 The Linnean Society of London, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society , 2004, 83 , 353–368.     

蛤蚧前背侧室嵴嘴外侧区的纤维联系

用HRP顺、逆行追踪技术 ,对蛤蚧 (Gekkogecko)前背侧室嵴嘴外侧区内部 ,以及该区与其周围结构之间的纤维联系进行了系统研究。结果表明 :①蛤蚧前背侧室嵴嘴外侧区内部存在核心部 -浅层细胞区环路 ;②蛤蚧前背侧室嵴嘴外侧区与尾外侧区之间有广泛的纤维联系 ;③蛤蚧前背侧室嵴嘴外侧区与皮质加厚区之间的环路是 2条联系视觉通路的高级中枢     

Ecological significance of male attractant in the defence and mating strategies of the fruit fly, Bactrocera papayae

After being acclimatized to feeding on fruit flies, the Asian house gecko, Hemidactylus frenatus Duméril & Bibron (Gekkonidae:Squamata), consumed fewer methyl eugenol (ME) fed male fruit flies, Bactrocera papayae Drew & Hancock (Tephritidae: Diptera) than when offered ME-deprived males. After one-day exposure to only ME-fed males, the geckos avoided feeding on female flies when in the presence of ME-fed males. When mechanically disturbed, the ME-fed males spontaneously ejaculated a rectal secretion which contains phenyl propanoids that deter the predator.The ME-fed males also competed significantly better than normal (ME-deprived) males for virgin females. Male B. papayae converts ME to three other phenyl propanoids which act in concert as a sex pheromone to attract females during courtship and as an allomone to the gecko.     

High-resolution X-ray computed tomography of an Early Cretaceous gekkonomorph (Squamata) from Öösh (Övörkhangai; Mongolia)

We describe the braincase of AMNH FR 21444, a gecko-like squamate from the Early Cretaceous of Mongolia, based on high-resolution X-ray computed tomography scans (CT scans) and incorporate it in a phylogenetic analysis of 36 squamate taxa scored for 226 morphological characters. Our analysis corroborates the Eublepharidae-Gekkonoidea split as the basal gekkotan dichotomy, but retrieves Teratoscincus as the sister-taxon to pygopodines + diplodactylines. The combination of plesiomorphic and apomorphic character states within AMNH FR 21444 demonstrates a decoupled evolutionary history between the braincase and the rest of the skull and mandible within gekkonomorph squamates. Enclosure of the lateral head vein and mandibular branch of the trigeminal nerve are both plesiomorphic for gekkonomorphs. The mechanisms responsible for the transition from the plesiomorphic skull roof of basal gekkonomorphs to the modern gekkotan condition cannot be anticipated given the current data.     

中药材蛤蚧的特异性PCR鉴定

以线粒体Cytb、COI、12SrRNA、16SrRNA基因序列为基础,探讨特异性PCR技术鉴定蛤蚧及伪品的可行性。本研究以所扩增的16条COI序列为引物设计依据序列设计了1对位点特异性引物COISF,COISR,同时从Gen-Bank上下载30条序列,设计了CytbSF,CytbSR;16S rRNASF,16S rRNASR;12S rRNASF,12S rRNASR另外3对位点特异性引物,因此共用4对位点特异性引物分别扩增蛤蚧及伪品实验样本。结果表明在复性温度为65℃时,4对引物都出现了理想的结果,即蛤蚧正品出现了扩增条带,而伪品没有扩增条带。同时对市售的蛤蚧商品进行了检测,在所供的7号标本中,有4号为蛤蚧正品,其余3号为蛤蚧伪品。本研究所设计的位点特异性引物可快捷、准确的鉴定蛤蚧及伪品,且在药检工作中具有极大的应用前景。     

Morphological differentiation correlates with ecological but not with genetic divergence in a Gehyra gecko

Body size affects life history, the ecological niche of an organism and its interactions with other organisms. Resultantly, marked differences in body size between related organisms are often an indication of a species boundary. This is particularly evident in the Gehyra variegata species complex of geckos, which displays differential body sizes between genetically divergent species, but high levels of intraspecific morphological conservatism. We report on a Gehyra population that displays extraordinary body size differentiation in comparison with other G. variegata species. We used morphological and environmental data to show this population is phenotypically and ecologically distinct from its parapatric congener Gehyra lazelli and that morphology and ecology are significantly correlated. Contrastingly, mtDNA analysis indicates paraphyly between the two groups, and allele frequencies at six microsatellite loci show no population structure concordant with morpho‐/ecotype. These results suggest either ecological speciation or environmentally induced phenotypic polymorphism, in an otherwise morphologically conservative group.